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US II “Themes”U.S. Government Structure 1. Separation of powers – 3 branches Congress – 2 Houses – pass laws work by committee delegated powers + elastic clause Senate – passes treaties (2/3), tries impeachment (2/3) approves appointments to courts and exec House – impeaches, starts finance bills, chooses Pres if no majority President – executes the laws with cabinet and departments commander in chief chief of state sets foreign policy wins by majority of electoral college Courts – federal and state court system 9 on Supreme Court (currently)can find laws unconstitutional2. Federalism – Role for states – reserved powers Roles for federal government – delegated powers, limited power 3. Checks and balances – impeachment Judicial review Appointments must be approved 2 Houses Veto 4. Unwritten constitution- 2 term-limit for President (begun by Washington, “written” as of 1951) Political parties 5. Adaptability of Constitution- Amendments “Elastic” clause 6. Amendments – 1-10: Bill of Rights (first 10), ratified 1791 1: freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion (includes separation of church and state); freedom to petition the government. 14: establish equality under the law for African-Americans, 1868 16: established government’s power to collect income taxes from individuals, 1916 17: Switched U.S. senate selection to direct election by people (instead of by the state legislatures), 1916 18: Established government’s right to enforce prohibition, 1919 19: Established woman suffrage, 1920 20: “lame duck” amendment moved up presidential inauguration and Congress meetings to January (from March) 21: Repealed prohibition, 1933 22: Made the two-term limit on presidency part of the Constitution (as opposed to the “unwritten constitution,” 1951 23: representation and right to vote in Washington, D.C., 1961 24: Abolished the poll tax, a charge for the right to vote, 1964 25: Established Congressional power to legislate a process for presidential succession, in the event of the president’s incapacity to govern, 1967 26: Lowered suffrage to age 18 (lowered from age 21), 1971 27: Congress can’t vote itself a raise to take effect during the same term, 1992 LawsAgriculture: Homestead Act, 1862: 160 acres free if resident for 5 years Agricultural Adjustment Acts, 1933, 1938. Farmers paid not to grow crops as price supports. These have only recently been curtailed in the 1990s. Business/ Labor: Interstate Commerce Commission, (ICC) 1886. Regulates railroads Sherman Antitrust Act, 1890: Forbids all combinations in restraint of trade Clayton Antitrust Act, 1914: Forbids interlocking directorates holding companies, tie-in contract. Prohibits use of antitrust laws against unions Federal Reserve System (“the Fed”), 1916: establishes a national bank for banks, to regulate the money supply by setting reserve, discount rate, and open market sale or purchase of government bonds. Run by regional boards.Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), 1934: 1934, regulates stock exchanges (e.g. buying on margin) and monitors trading for unfair manipulation of stock exchanges. National Industrial Recovery Act 1933: Codes of business that set wages, hours and prices. National Labor Relations Act, 1933 Guarantees the right to organize and bargain collectively, forbids blacklists Social Security Act, 1935: Old age pension and unemployment insurance. Medicare for aged included in 1965. Taft Hartley Act 1947 Forbids closed shop, permits states to bar union shop, allow temporary injunctions of strikes affecting national welfare. Politics/Government: Pendleton Act: Created the Civil Service exams whereby you get a government job by taking an exam instead of by favor. War Powers Act, 1974: The President can send troops into combat must inform congress within 48 hours. Congress may then order the troops home if it wishes. Hostilities must terminate within 90 days unless Congress gives explicit permission for them to continue.Immigration1882 Chinese Exclusion Act Suspended immigration of all Chinese. Another law prohibited immigration of criminals, paupers, and "mentally defective" persons. 1891 By this year the federal government had established full control of immigration. Regulations now forbid the immigration of: ? "persons suffering from a loathsome or dangerous contagious disease." ? It also included earlier provisions which kept out criminals, prostitutes, paupers, and "mentally defective" persons. ? It required that an immigrant prove to officials that he or she would not become a burden on society. 1892 Ellis Island opens in New York City as a federal immigration inspection station 1894 Immigration Restriction League formed. Between 1896 and 1915, this group waged a half dozen attempts to pass a literacy requirement for entry to the U.S. 1908 Gentlemen's Agreement President Theodore Roosevelt made a deal in which Japan agreed to deny passports to its laborers who wished to come to the United States. 1917 Literacy Test is finally enacted. Every immigrant aged 16 or older must be able to read. It keeps out very few immigrants. 1924 National Origins Act reduces the annual total to 164,000. It also drastically reduced the number of southern and eastern Europeans allowed entry. Italy's quota, for example, was reduced from 42,000 to 4,000 persons. 1929 Total limited to 150,000 annually, with specific quotas for each country; these were based on the number of people from each country living in the U.S. in 1920 1930s Refugees from the Nazis are barred entry to the U.S. Despite the fact that these people sought to escape persecution or even death, the quota system kept most of the refugees, principally Jewish, from coming to the U.S. 1965 The Immigration and Nationality Act eliminated the quota system. It kept a limit on the annual total, but allowed anyone to enter on a first come, first served basis. For the first time, anyone from southern Europe, Africa, or Asia received the same consideration as someone from France or Germany. Gives preference to professionals and skilled workers, and those related to U.S. citizens. (LBJ Administration) 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act imposes fines against employers who hire illegal aliens. Employers must now check documents which prove citizenship. It has not slowed the entry of illegal immigrants from Latin America via the Mexican border. (Reagan Administration) African Americans 1876 The contested presidential election of 1876 results in a deal in which Union troops are removed from the South, thus ending Reconstruction; enforcement of the "Civil War Amendments" comes to an end. By 1890 in the South, de jure segregation is legally-enforced in schools, hotels, buses, trains, train stations, restrooms, restaurants, water fountains. Virtually every public and private facility — is segregated. In the North, de facto segregation (segregation in fact) means that in practice, blacks are not hired, sold houses, or admitted entrance to many private institutions and clubs. 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruled that "separate, but equal" facilities do not violate the 14th Amendment; segregation is therefore considered constitutional. 1912 The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is formed by W.E.B. DuBois and a group of white and black citizens to fight for the political equality of all races. 1917 “The Great Migration” begins, which continues through the 1960s, originally a response to demands for additional labor during wartime. The north begins to experience de facto racial segregation, race riots.1920s Marcus Garvey founds the Universal Negro Improvement Association, and its Black Star shipping line. Garvey promotes pride in African heritage, and black nationalism: a very different approach to black civil rights in America. 1933 FDR establishes a group of African-American advisors, known as the “black cabinet.” New Deal programs provide jobs and assistance to blacks as well as whites. 1941 A. Phillip Randolph leads the March on Washington Movement, urging equal opportunity legislation in federally-contracted defense industries. Executive Order 8802. 1948 President Truman orders the desegregation of the Armed Forces, against his generals’ wishes. 1954 Brown v. Board of Education: "separate is inherently unequal." Emmet Till tortured and killed in Mississippi, creating nationwide shock at white Southern hostility and violence upon blacks. 1955- Rosa Parks, NAACP; Montgomery Bus boycott, Martin Luther King, Jr. 1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott a success; city bus system desegregated; African-American bus drivers hired. The Supreme Court rules segregation in public transportation is unconstitutional. 1956-57, Little Rock Nine at Little Rock Central High. President Eisenhower sends U.S. Army to desegregate Little Rock, Arkansas's Central High School; the "Little Rock Nine" are allowed to attend. Congress passes the weak Civil Rights Act of 1957, but it has little impact on voting rights. 1960 Lunch Counter Sit-ins, Greensboro 4. Led by college students in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, pronounced “snick”). Adults turned to boycott Greensboro stores for employment. Achieved integration in the city. 1960-61, 100 other cities held sit-ins. 50,000 Americans participated. 3,600 arrested. 1961 Freedom Rides, Congress of Racial Equality(CORE) led an integrated civil disobedience bus tour through the South, led to violence, firebombs, beatings, all nationally televised. Led to federal intervention by JFK and RFK as attorney general.1963 KKK bomb kills four black schoolgirls in a Birmingham, Alabama church. Birmingham Anti-Segregation Campaign. Police Chief Bull Connor's violent retaliation against peaceful protestors results in riots. Riots spread to other U.S. cities north and south. MLK, Jr. arrested: "Letter From Birmingham Jail." August: March on Washington, more than 200,000 blacks and whites demonstrate, King gives "I have a dream" speech. 1964 Freedom Summer Massive voter registration drive in Mississippi, organized and staffed by white and black college students, many from the North. Three civil rights workers, two white and from the north are murdered by the KKK. Civil Rights Act of 1964. These murders stir awareness and condemnation by much of the nation, including President Johnson, and leads directly to his successful initiation and push for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which Congress passes. The Act outlaws job discrimination, and all forms of segregation. 24th Amendment does away with poll taxes; “war on poverty” declared by President Johnson’s "Great Society" Program launched. LBJ declares a "war on poverty." Economic Opportunity Act, Medicare/Medicaid, school aid, HUD, 1965 Voting Rights Act eliminates literacy tests Malcolm X assassinated 1967 Riots in many U.S. cities. 43 dead in Detroit's riot. National Guard troops called in to help. Affirmative Action programs established, requiring businesses and colleges receiving federal funding to increase job opportunities and admissions for women and minorities. Discontent in Northern cities helps lead to growing Black Power Movement and groups like Black Panthers.1968 April 4, Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated in Nashville, Tennessee. Riots again erupt around the country. 1978 Regents of the University of California v. Bakke ruled that the school's affirmative action "quota system" was unconstitutional and that Bakke, a white applicant, should be admitted. However, it also ruled that race could be one factor in determining admission to a college. 2003 Affirmative action case is heard by the Supreme Court to determine whether University of Michigan affirmative action policies, which consider race as one of many factors, but don’t use a quota, is constitutional (see Bakke case above). Major Figures in the Struggle for African-American Civil Rights Booker T. Washington - turn of century; accommodate to present conditions, don't insist on social equality or pushing for political rights, emphasis on economic self sufficiency, vocational education, dignity, and self respect. Founder of the Tuskegee Institute. W.E.B. DuBois - Early 1900s; historian and activist; founder of the NAACP, circa 1909. Protest all inequalities, bring law suits for rights, educate the "talented tenth" for the professions as a vanguard; integrate. Wrote first revisionist history of reconstruction. . Ida B. Wells(-Barnett) – Progressive era activist from the south; school teacher at age 16, journalist and anti-lynching Progressive-era activist. Her work for women’s suffrage was rebuffed by many white woman suffragettes. Wells was fiercely determined and remained active despite death threats. Marcus Garvey - 1920s; colorful founder of the United Negro Improvement Association; black pride; promote black businesses; solidarity with blacks world wide; back to Africa; steamship company for repatriation goes bankrupt. Scandal led to conviction for mail fraud, exile. A. Phillip Randolph - Organizer of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Organized and canceled a March on Washington in 1944 to protest discrimination in the defense industry. Gained Executive Order 8802 from FDR which fulfilled this demands. Led the 1963 March with King. Thurgood Marshall NAACP's lead lawyer arguing the 1954 Brown v. Bd. of Ed. case. Later named as Supreme Court Justice (1st black ever) by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - Southern Christian Leadership Conference founder, boycotts, sit-ins, protests, marches, law suits; non violent direct action, his very effective strategy, to raise consciousness, press for laws to dismantle Jim Crow laws and establish voting rights; his vision: a fully integrated society. Malcolm X - 1950s, early 1960s leader of Black Muslims, contempt for white society, black nationalist, separatist, unity with blacks worldwide, discipline and self respect, full civil rights for blacks. Led rallies, international protests. Rejected nonviolence and assimilation, but altered views upon return from Mecca. Stokely Carmichael - arises from SNCC. Originates slogan of "black power," intimidation, black pride, full rights and control of black communities: Black Panthers, Angela Davis, e.g. Jessie Jackson - ran for President in 1984 with the Rainbow Coalition, emphasis on solving poverty problems, lower military budget with money diverted to domestic problems, affirmative action, increase black voter participation. Clarence Thomas - career at first outside civil rights community, opposes affirmative action and special programs for minorities, just enforce present laws, hard work and self discipline, avoid self pity and self image of underdog. Now a Reagan appointee on the Supreme Court. Women1896 Four new Western states are the first to grant women suffrage (WY, ID, UT, CO)1890 NAWSA, Carrie Chapman Catt (begun by Stanton, Anthony) Highly organized, centrally managed, grassroots group. “The Winning Plan” state campaigns to pressure congress for an amendment. 1916 National Woman's Party, Alice Paul, militant faction splits off from NAWSA, uses Civil Disobedience. Arrests embarrass Wilson who urges passage of amendment to Congress. 1920 President Wilson finally endorses suffrage, in part for women’s crucial role during the war. The 19th Amendment gives women suffrage, but it has little impact on reform politics. 1963 The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, challenged the notion that women were the "weaker sex." Advocated that women be admitted to the professions and high-level business positions. The opening salvo of the modern women's rights movement. 1964 Civil Rights Act forbids gender discrimination in employment. 1966 National Organization for Women (NOW) is formed by Betty Friedan and other feminists to increase awareness of discrimination against and domination over women by men, as well as to pass antidiscrimination legislation and push for equal pay and day-care centers. 1972 Congress passes ERA (equal rights amendment) and sends it out to the states for possible ratification. Three quarters or 38 states needed to ratify.Higher Education Act forbids discrimination in admission to colleges and universities. One section, Title IX, states that "No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." Public schools and colleges greatly increased funding of women's sports programs as a result. 1973 Roe v. Wade, extremely controversial, ruled that laws prohibiting abortion in the first six months of pregnancy are unconstitutional because the first amendment implies a right to privacy, which in this matter applies to a woman's choices regarding her own body. This ruling has been narrowed in recent years by further Supreme Court challenges. 1982 Deadline for state ratification; ERA falls short of 38 states by 3. Native Americans 1860s First Sioux War. Transcontinental railroad construction and westward movement of Americans begin widespread encroachment on Plains Indian lands. 1864 Sand Creek Massacre: 300 peaceful Indian men, women & children attacked and slaughtered by U.S. Army under Colonel Chivington.1867 Reservation policy established for the Black Hills & Oklahoma. 1880s Second Sioux War, Nez Percé, Apache Indian Wars with U.S. 1871 End of treaty-making by U.S.; Indians subject to U.S. policy. 1876 Custer's Last Stand: 264 soldiers killed by 2,500 Sioux & Cheyenne at Little Bighorn River, Montana. 1877 The Sioux surrender; Crazy Horse killed. The Nez Percé captured at Canadian border after 1,700 mile flight under Chief Joseph. 1885 Of an original 60 million, only 1,000 buffalo remain in the U.S. 1886 Apache's Geronimo surrenders. 1887 Dawes Act breaks up remaining tribal lands; enforces "Americanization" policy of settlement on reservations. 1890 Wounded Knee, South Dakota massacre of Native Americans. 1924 Congress passes a law granting Indians full citizenship who hadn’t already received it. 1932 President Hoover reorganizes the Bureau of Indian Affairs; increases its budget.1934 FDR’s “New Deal for Indians: Ended land allotments, restored unsold surplus lands to tribal ownership, authorized tribes to form councils with significant powers over their people. 1973 Sit-in at D.C. Bureau of Indian Affairs to protest conditions. Indian rights movement gathers momentum, especially in organizations such as the American Indian Movement (AIM). Supreme Court CasesCIVIL RIGHTS CASESPlessy v. Ferguson – 1896 Segregation does not violate the 14th amendment as long as facilities are equal. Made Jim Crow laws constitutional. Brown v. Board of Education – 1954 Segregated schools are illegal and violate the 14th amendment. In 1955 further decided this decision should be implemented with all deliberate speed. Bakke Case – 1979 In medical school students cannot be admitted by quota but race can be considered for admission. Important for reverse discriminationGOVERNMENT AND RIGHTSBaker v. Carr – 1962 Legislative districts must represent equal numbers of voters. Reduced the rural vote. 1 man 1 vote. Engel v. Vitale – 1962 Regents Prayer is unconstitutional even if it is nondenominational Gideon v. Wainwright – 1963 Accused have a right to a lawyer in all felony cases. Miranda v. Arizona – 1966 Before questioning, police must inform suspect of his right to remain silent, and have a lawyer. LABOR AND BUSINESSWabash v. Illinois, 1886 State laws regulating RR were unconstitutional as RR is interstate commerce. Under cut control of big business Schechter v. U.S., 1935 NRA was unconstitutional. Regulated interstate commerce under cut New Deal Economic HistoryIndustrialism (1865-1920) During and after the Civil War (1861-65), northern industries grew enormously. The corporation, a legal entity, and the issuing of stocks, led to nationwide businesses with enormous factories. This also led to the concentration of wealth in a very few hands, which led, in turn, to political corruption by the “robber baron” business leaders. Government maintained a laissez-faire policy: government would not interfere with the economy, even in the event of a depression. Hypocritically, however, the federal government did send in the U.S. army to break workers’ strikes.Progressive Era: Government moved away from laissez faire with Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal policy of mediating disputes between workers and management, and trustbusting. The Welfare State New Deal: Franklin Roosevelt’s policy of mild pro-unionism, and intervention in economy toward relief, recovery, and moderate reforms. The Great Society: Lyndon Johnson’s program to wage the “War on Poverty” in the 1960s. Established Medicaid (health care coverage for the poor), federal education subsidies (Headstart e.g.), jobs programs (VISTA, e.g.). Never fully funded due to the massive cost of the Vietnam War. Supply-side economics (Reaganomics): Cut corporate and individual taxes, cut social spending by government in order to encourage private investment leading to economic growth, and eliminate some federal business regulations to increase profits. This top-down approach to economic intervention, meant to create growth, was sometimes referred to as “trickle-down economics” because it was asserted that additional wealth in corporations and the upper class would trickle down to the lower classes. NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement, 1994: tariffs removed amongst Canada, United States and Mexico to stimulate greater trade and economic growth; critics believe it is resulting in fewer American exports and jobs in the United States. (Bush, Clinton) Concern over the overriding issue of “globalization” of the world’s economy.Foreign Policy Imperialism: Spanish-American War, 1898 (McKinley) Alaska purchased from Russia, 1867 (Seward) Teller Amendment, 1898 Acquire Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines Hawaii acquired as a territory Platt Amendment, 1901 (T. Roosevelt) Panama Canal (U.S. intervention in Colombia) Roosevelt Corollary, 1903-04 World War I: Freedom of the seas, objections to German sub warfare, (Wilson) (British blockades, U.S. ships, stopped, seized) Reject Treaty of Versailles, 1919 (League of Nations)Isolationism: Washington Conference, 1921 (Harding) Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1924 (Coolidge)Neutrality Acts, 1935, 1936, 1937 (F.D.R. opposes) World War II: U.S. Recognition of Soviet Union (F.D.R.)Good Neighbor Policy Lend-Lease Act Selective Service, 1940Atlantic Charter, 1941, U.S.-Great Britain (United Nations) Pearl Harbor Atomic bomb tested, July 1945; used August 1945(Truman)Cold War: Iron Curtain Truman Doctrine George Kennan’s containment policy Marshall Plan, 1948 Berlin Airlift, 1948 NATO, 1949 Korean War, 1950-53 (Truman/Ike) CIA-orchestrated coups in Iran, Guatemala, 1953-54 Warsaw Pact formed, 1955 Covert aid to South Vietnam (Ike), 1956 Fidel Castro deposes Batista, leads a communist Cuba U-2 incident, 1960 Bay of Pigs, 1961 (J.F.K.) Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 J.F.K. increases military advisors to 16,000 in Vietnam Johnson sends ground troops to Vietnam, 1965 Escalates to >500,000 troops by 1968 Nixon spreads conflict to Laos and Cambodia Nixon ends U.S. role in the war by 1973 (Vietnamization) Détente: China recognized; Soviet grain deal, SALT I & II CIA-orchestrated coup in Chile, 1973 U.S. objects to 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (Carter) Iranian hostages U.S. invades Grenada, 1983 (Reagan) Support for Contras, Iran-Contra scandal (Reagan) S.D.I (“Star Wars”) proposed Gorbachev: glasnost, perestroika Berlin Wall torn down, 1989, East/West Germany reunited (Bush Sr.) Soviet Union dissolved, 1991 U.S. invades Panama, 1988 “War on Drugs” (Bush Sr.) Post-cold War “New World Order” (Bush, Sr.) Persian Gulf War, 1991 U.S. troops to Somalia, 1993 (Clinton) U.S. troops to Bosnia, 1995 War on Terrorism (George W. Bush): 9/11, Afghanistan Invasion, Homeland Security Dept., Patriot Act The Bush Doctrine:Pre-emptive War; Iraq War, 2003 ................
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